Douglas Back began his training on the guitar at age ten. Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri USA, he played electric and acoustic guitar and sang in a variety of bands and ensembles while performing throughout the St. Louis region. This culminated in his being asked to sing and entertain for the 1983 Miss Universe Contestants at an event held for them during the Miss Universe Pageant week held in St. Louis that year. Doug went on to earn Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Classical Guitar Performance, and was a first prize winner in the George C. Krick Memorial Guitar Competition. After graduation, Doug taught classical guitar full-time for over thirty years in the Montgomery, Alabama Public Schools Arts Magnet Programs and as an adjunct instructor of guitar at Faulkner University, Troy State University, Alabama State University, and Georgia Southwestern College. He was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the International NETWORK of Performing Arts Schools in 2003 (a network of over 150 international schools) and the Montgomery County Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2009. Doug has authored four anthology books and recordings of guitar music for Mel Bay Publications and more than 50 articles on fretted string instruments for a variety of publications. He has performed internationally throughout the United States, Australia, Great Britain, and the Philippines. In addition to guitar, Doug performs on a wide spectrum of fretted instruments including classic five-string and jazz plectrum banjo, mandolin, and renaissance lute. He is considered one of the leading masters of the 19th-century classic banjo, and in 2006 he also took First Prize in the Classical Mandolin Society of America’s Classical Mandolin Championship. Doug retired from teaching classical guitar in the Montgomery Public School system in 2020 and then opened up his teaching studio, Doug’s Music Academy.